Bukhara Culture Imports Ltd is a fast-growing fashion retailer with outlets in prime high street locations throughout London, and in towns and cities throughout the UK. Stores can be found in Kensington, Oxford Street, Covent Garden, King’s Road in Chelsea, Bayswater and Regents Street, and in Crawley, Maidenhead, Norwich, Kent, Cambridge, Oxford, Guildford, Brighton and Nottingham.
Bukhara is a supplier of ladies wear, cashmere shawls, ladies bags and other fashion accessories, with an impressive in-store selection. Its shops have light, colourful and airy interiors providing a pleasurable shopping environment, with friendly, knowledgeable staff providing excellent customer service.
The company was formed in the early 1990s by Mushtaq Punjabi, with the first outlets originating in Greenwich and Camden. By the end of end 2004, the business had expanded to 12 outlets in England and today it continues to grow and supply the very finest fashions.
“I would probably hold our Brompton Road store in Knightsbridge up as the brand’s flagship,” says Punjabi. “It is the best example of what Bukhara has to offer and, at 1,800sq ft, we are able to offer something from across our entire range of products.”
The company’s target customer is between 18-35 years of age, but despite having attracted a younger customer earlier on, it has successfully developed its offer to appeal to a broader age range.
“Longer term, our plans for expansion are very clear; ultimately we intend to be firmly placed and well established within each of the prime central London locations,” explains Punjabi. “Once that has been achieved, we plan to take Bukhara into a new phase of growth, with new openings in the international markets of Dubai and India.”
What is it that attracted the brand to these particular markets, asks RLI? And is the company also looking at other international destinations right now?
“We have looked at Ireland,” he says, “though we are not convinced that the market is right for us at this time. Of course, we never say never and continue to assess the Irish market.
“The Indian market is growing very nicely and is evolving into a very impressive retail destination. Of course, it helps enormously that operational costs are low compared to the UK. In addition, we have seen in our London stores that we attract a high proportion of Middle East customers and that obviously inclines us towards Dubai, which is a very cosmopolitan destination.”
For the full article, please see the December 2010 issue.
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